Today’s Scrip-Bit   10 April 2023 Revelation 1:8.

10 Apr 2023 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Revelation 1:8.I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Well here comes Monday, Easter Monday, a public holiday in many places, and with no work to go to, it means the Easter celebrations will continue in full swing! And why not eh? It’s not every day that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ rises from the dead, so we have to make the most of it while we can. (smile) However, please let us not forget the real reason behind the celebrations, as we tend to do with a lot of our Christian celebrations, and that reason is Jesus! He is our be-all and end-all; our Everything! As He says to John in Revelation: ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ (Rev. 1:8) 

Yes friends, those words show that our Jesus is God Almighty! They back up the opening verses of John’s gospel. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.’ (John 1:1-3) Wow! What a mighty Being is our Jesus! John characterizes Him as ‘the Word,’ and He was there every step of the way in the creation of the universe. 

The scholars offer these explanations. ‘In the beginning…with God signifies the perfect fellowship between God the Father and God the Son in eternity. The Word was God: Just as the previous expression (the Word was with God) emphasizes distinction in the Godhead, this phrase stresses the essential unity. In the Greek text of this verse, ‘God’ is a predicate adjective (whatever that means), appearing without article and preceding ‘the Word,’ thus emphasizing Jesus’ divinity. John could not have expressed the full divinity of Christ more completely.’ 

I totally agree! (smile) And if like me, you’ve left school so long ago, that you don’t remember what a predicate adjective is, then listen to this definition. ‘Predicate adjectives are adjectives that modify or describe the subject of a sentence or clause and are linked to the subject by a linking verb. In the sentence The joke was funny, the adjective funny is a predicate adjective that modifies the subject joke and is connected to it with the linking verb was.’ Amen! 

And if you still doubt Christ’s divinity, then read with me, as Bruh Paul writes to the Colossians, re the Pre-eminence or Primacy of Christ ‘Who (that’s Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn (first in rank) of (over) every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in (on) earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him. And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.’ (Col. 1:15-17) 

Oh my fellow believers our Lord and Saviour existed before the universe or anything else existed, and He was preeminent in everything that was created. And the scholars tell us that ‘Thrones… dominions… principalities…powers all refer to angelic beings (cf. Eph. 1:21; 3:10) “Thrones” refer to angels who sit on thrones as rulers; “dominions” refer to domains or kingdoms over which these heavenly beings reign, “principalities”  refer to rulers, and “powers” refer to angelic monarchs who wield regal power. 

Since Christ created these various ranks of angels, He is supreme over them. Striking a blow at the Colossian heresy advocating angel worship (2:18), this text forbids Christians to pay homage to angels and other heavenly beings created by God. By Him all things consist means by Him all things are held together. Christ now preserves all that He made in Creation.’ Matter fixed! (smile) 

And if you still don’t believe, are not assured of Christ’s divinity and pre-eminence in the creation and control of the universe, then listen to these verses from Hebrews. ‘God, who in sundry times (in many portions) and in divers manners (many ways) spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds (ages).’ (Heb. 1:1-2) 

And the scholars offer these comments. ‘The author immediately shows that Jesus Christ, as the agent of God’s revelation is far superior to the Old Testament prophets. Their message was fragmentary and incomplete. It came bit by bit through visions, dreams, and direct communication as men were ready and able to receive it. Christ’s revelation is climactic and complete, because He is the Son and because His is the message for the last days. His incarnation initiated the end time, and it will be fulfilled when He returns to earth to reconcile and restore all things, (cf. Acts 2:16-17; 3:19-21; 1 Pet. 1:20).’ 

Ah mih people, Christ is indeed El Numero Uno, the definitive Number One! No doubt about it! And if you don’t believe it, then that’s your problem, you’ll just have to pay whatever price is called for at the end times. True wisdom, however, dictates that you turn to Jesus and seriously and sincerely place your trust and your eternal salvation in His masterful hands. But that’s a decision you alone can make. I can only offer you the advice and the reasons that I believe it’s wise. ONLY with Christ can you enjoy eternal life; everything else leads to eternal death. So please think on it and act wisely, before it’s too late. 

Now, for those of us who have already believed but are having a hard time staying on the straight and narrow path, let’s go to the throne of grace and through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn, ask for divine help. As one voice: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems. 

Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.  

And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’ 

Now, having said all of that, we need to put our houses in order, so that the Lord can help us, for remember, we can do nothing without Him. Much LOVE!

…wise people run to Jesus… and hold on tightly to Him…for all other options are disastrous… 

 Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZ        

Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 June 2021 Revelation 1:8a.

02 Jun 2021 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Revelation 1:8a.     ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,

On and on we go friends, walking down the road of life with our marvellous Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! You know, every day seems the same, but they are all different when you partner with Jesus, because He makes every day special, unique, in its own way. Now who else can do that for us eh? Nobody! Not a single soul can give us the joy, the hope, the peace, the LOVE, the salvation and friendship that we find with Jesus! 

Wow! No wonder so many of have chosen, and are choosing to follow Him right down to the very end! And that decision is the wisest one we can ever make, for when we live for Jesus, our earthly lives may sometimes be rough, but our end will be great, greater than if we follow any other path. And why is that you ask? Well let’s hear some scriptures that ought to bring the true story to you and help you decide to live for Jesus. 

The Book of Revelation, Jesus’ account of what’s to happen, as He revealed to His disciple John on the isle of Patmos tells us in the early verses: ‘Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.’ (Rev. 1:3) And believe me friends, the time is truly at hand. The world is in such an ungodly and unstable mess, that even if God doesn’t put forth His hand to destroy it, it will implode soon, because of the inordinate strife, anger, sickness and inhumanity that’s permeating it right now. 

Then, the terrible way in which we’re treating the earth, continually ravaging it for our greedy, selfish purposes, without any plans for replenishing it, there must come a time when there’s nothing left to be ravaged. And though Bruh Paul wasn’t referring to the physical earth when he proclaimed: ‘For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain (suffers birth pangs) together until now,’ (Rom. 8:22) we can certainly make a point for its continual physical deterioration through all the mining and deforestation and other bad treatment we inflict on it. 

Then look at the number of volcanoes that are currently erupting all over the globe, many of which have been dormant for long periods. I don’t know if we have ever had so many erupting simultaneously as we do today. And when we add the other natural disasters that seem to be occurring more often, with greater intensity, there’s little hope for us, unless we quickly and completely change our attitudes towards God, each other and the earth. 

Now, it doesn’t matter so much what happens to our physical bodies, but it’s of the utmost importance what happens to our spiritual selves when the physical body returns to the earth from whence it came. And I’m here to tell us that following Jesus is the best thing we can do for our spiritual lives, which shall live on for a long, long time after our physical bodies die. 

And John vividly details, some verses later in his revelation: ‘Behold he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds (the tribes) of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him. Even so, Amen.’ (Rev. 1:7) Those words refer to Christ’s return to earth to establish His kingdom, not to the Rapture. There, everyone will see Him, including all those who rejected Him, and wanted Him dead and participated in His death, will then repent and mourn. 

But hear what Jesus tells John. ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ (Rev. 1:8) The scholars tell us that ‘Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, and refer to God’s eternality and sovereignty, and possibly to the fullness of God’s self-revelation.’ Now God revealing Himself to us should come as no surprise, for He’s done it right down through the ages through His prophets. 

And I like how from heaven, just like on earth, when Jesus appears to John, who falls down at His feet as though dead. He tells him: ‘Fear not; I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.’ (Rev. 1:17-18) Yes friends, Christ is alive and well! 

The scholars explain: ‘As God in the Old Testament is called “the living God,” so Christ is he that liveth. He became dead when He humbled Himself to die on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8), but then rose to live for evermore. Three tenses of Christ’s existence are emphasized: (1) His ever-abiding life; (2) his death as God-man; and (3) His resurrection to everlasting and authoritative life. He has authority over death and judgement and therefore has the keys of hell (hades) and of death (cf. 20:14).’ 

Then we come to this most pertinent instruction of Jesus’ to John. ‘Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.’ (Rev. 1:19) According to the scholars ‘This is the key verse of the Book. Revelation has three major sections: (1) the things which thou hast seen – chapter 1, especially the vision of Christ (cf. vs. 11 -: “what thou seest”); (2) the things which are – chapters 2 and 3, the conditions in the churches; and (3) the things which shall be hereafter – chapters 4-22, beginning with the judgements of the Tribulation period (cf. 7:1) – “after these things”). 

Ah mih people, I know many of us don’t like or read, or understand the Book of Revelation, because it can be confusing and has some gory details that turn us off, but in truth, it’s the best Book of the Bible, because it tells us exactly what will happen at the very end to those who follow Jesus sincerely and those who don’t. It doesn’t mince words at all. However, I think we’ll stop here for today, since it will get much too long if I continue with it all at once. Tomorrow, God spare life, we will get into Revelation a little more, and hopefully, by the time we are finished, we’ll all have a better idea of what’s going to happen in the future. 

So, for those of us who are totally interested in walking with Jesus, let’s go home now declaring (steups!) our Wednesday Wail, letting all and sundry know of our wonderful position in Him. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

And to further boost our enthusiasm, let’s remember that if we endure to the end, the future will be even more glorious than we can ask or imagine! Much LOVE!

…one truth from the Bible…is worth…more than all the wisdom of man…                                                   

Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8